Reishi is a wild and cultivated mushroom you can find in hardwood forests in North America and Asia. It has been used for thousands of years in Eastern Asia to boost the immune system and prevent disease. If you buy it at an Asian grocery store, it will be called “lingzhi” and look like the slivers in the photo below.
I started using reishi regularly and find it boosts my energy level while also having a calming effect, unlike caffeine. The tea is super bitter, but added to black tea or juice, it’s tolerable.
In China, it’s often added to soups for the medicinal and health benefits.
Making a tincture is a way to preserve the healing properties of this herb without needing to brew tea every day. You can just take it by the dropful.
Also, an alcohol tincture pulls out more of the anti-carcinogenic properties. I’ll explain. It has water-soluble polysaccharides that boost the immune system . . . and the best part of all is it can fight cancer cells. Alcohol extracts a type of triterpenese, ganoderic acids, that have been found to have direct cytotoxicity to cancer, countering metastasis and new growth of cancer.
Making a tincture isn’t hard, but you’ll need some sliced, dried or fresh reishi and vodka and a glass jar with a lid.
Reishi Tincture
Equipment
- 3/4 Jar 80 Proof Acohol (I use vodka)
- Reish Mushrooms chopped
Instructions
- Place chopped dried or fresh reishi into a jar.
- Pour the alcohol on top until covered, shooting for 3/4 full.
- Shake daily for 4 weeks, but keep in a dark area.
- Then strain out the mushrooms using a cheesecloth and set aside.
- Bring half a gallon of water to a low boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add the mushrooms and let brew for 2 hours.
- Let the brewed water cool, then strain out the reishi and dispose of it.
- Add the reishi water to the alcohol extract.
- Store in a glass container in a dark place. Use within 1 year.
Dosage
- Adults take 1 dropper of tincture daily. Alcohol extracts not for kids.
